Davido and DJ Maphorisa, South African record producer, are at loggerhead over who gave Amapiano its first thrust towards the limelight.
Amapiano is a style of house music that emerged in South Africa in 2012.
It is a hybrid of deep house, jazz, lounge music and wide percussive basslines.
The genre is distinguished by high-pitched piano melodies, Kwaito basslines, low-tempo 90s South African house rhythms, and percussions from another local subgenre of house music known as Bacardi.
The genre became popular in the transition to the 2020s even in the present-day among millennials and Gen Zs.
On Wednesday, Wizkid released ‘Bad To Me’, an Amapiano-themed song.
Afropop has had considerable success globally, with Nigeria being integral to the music industry in Africa.
Wizkid’s song stirred arguments about which Nigerian artiste first gave Amapiano its first thrust into the spotlight.
Arguing in favour of Davido, one fan wrote: “Davido brought Amapiano from South Africa two years ago and made it a successful genre in Africa and Beyond.
“Wizkid is now hopping on the same genre after davido made it a successful genre. This is how many African artists have been benefiting from Davido’s success for over 12 yrs.”
In defense of Wizkid, DJ Maphorisa argued: “Kabza & Maphorisa was the first to put Wizkid n Burnaboy on an Amapiano song ‘Sponono’. That was a historical moment 3 years ago.
“Research before the tweet. Also, it was the first time Wiz n Burna jumped on same song together. Let it sink in.”
Davido unexpectedly waded in, accusing Maphorisa of disliking him.
“You’ve never liked me, y? I’ve always been good to you. Anyways! Away, now! Chu chu chu chu chu,” the pop singer wrote.
Adewale Adeleke also joined the fray in defense of Davido.
“My brother put on a countless number of artists & producers only for “some” of them to disrespect him! There’s a reason why he’s still here and y’all fell off,” he argued.
